Reuters
SYDNEY // All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is sweating over the fitness of Ma’a Nonu and Jerome Kaino for next week’s Rugby Championship test against Australia but as big a concern is why his team is getting penalised so much at the breakdown.
Inside centre Nonu injured his shoulder and blindside flanker Kaino hurt his elbow during Saturday’s 12-12 draw with the Wallabies at the Olympic Stadium and are doubts for next weekend’s return at Eden Park in Auckland.
Read more: Australia hold all-powerful New Zealand but unhappy with ‘hollow outcome’
Uppermost in Hansen’s mind, though, was the yellow cards doled out to prop Wyatt Crockett and Beauden Barrett by South African referee Jaco Peyper for offenses committed at the breakdown.
Hansen said after the match that his team needed to address the number of cards they had been conceding and returned to the theme on Sunday.
“If we’re not getting continuity and the referee’s penalising you, it’s difficult to get a dominant platform,” he told reporters at the team hotel.
“So we’ve got to go away and look at some of that stuff, work out if we were in the wrong and, if we were in the right, work out what we were doing to make him think we were in the wrong.
“But there’s no point losing sleep over it because you’re playing sport and some days you’re not going to get the result you want.
“So you’ve got to be a big boy and take it on the chin and move on.”
The All Blacks were put into a position where they were conceding yellow cards and penalties because of the amount of pressure they were under from the Wallabies’ attack at times.
Read more: Australia rugby coach Ewen McKenzie says Eden Park a challenge to relish
Captain Richie McCaw, who has developed a reputation over the years for judging the fine line between legality and illegality in the tackle area, suggested momentum played a major role in the officiating of that part of the game.
“Probably the team that has the momentum perhaps gets the rub of the green,” the flanker said in the post-match press conference.
“When you are under the pump you are guilty of trying to force things a little bit rather than backing our defence and some decisions went against us because we were on the back foot.
“We need to be a little bit smarter at times especially when we’re under the pump that we don’t give the ref an opportunity to make the decisions to make it worse.”
Hansen, as gracious in defeat as he was mischievous in the run-up to the match, was not surprised by a strong performance by the Wallabies and said on Saturday night the Australians were always tough opponents - even at a children’s games like marbles.
“They’ll have confidence in their game and they’re all playing for each other,” he added on Sunday.
“Australia teams are always tough to play, you get those weather conditions and it makes for a tough night.”
The draw prevented New Zealand from taking outright the record for the most consecutive test wins, which they currently share at 17 matches with the 1965-69 All Blacks and South Africa side of 1997-98.
“There’s only three teams in the history of tier one nations that have won 17 games in a row so that’s a massive achievement in itself,” Hansen said.
“Disappointing that we didn’t get to 18 but pleasing that we gutsed out a draw, I suppose.”
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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